Roaming cow causes major crash

Roaming cow causes major crash Kills one and puts two in critical condition A roaming cow on the B1 south to Rehoboth caused a massive accident just before sunrise. The accident scene, at which 38-year-old Hendrik Swartz lost his life early yesterday morning, was strewn with baby nappies, Christmas grocery gifts, and a children's swimming pool.

Roughly a kilometre after the Oamites turn-off south of Windhoek, Swartz who was driving a Volkswagen bakkie, hit a cow and swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting an approaching Toyota double-cab bakkie in the process. The accident took place just before 05:00 yesterday morning.

Acting crime coordinator for Khomas Region Freddie Basson said Swartz was trapped in his vehicle and died on the spot. “Two other people were injured and are now in a critical condition in a local hospital,” he said. According to the Namibian Road Traffic and Transport Regulations of 2001, Chapter 8, “a person may not leave or allow any bovine animal, horse, ass, mule, sheep, goat, pig or ostrich to be on any section of a public road where that section is fenced or in any other manner closed along both sides, and a person may not leave that animal in a place from where it may stray onto that section of a public road.”

However, according to Basson, many of the animals which cause accidents along the B1 road are untagged which makes it difficult for law enforcers to trace the owners.

The NamLITS system allows for efficient tracing of livestock owners but the animal has to be tagged.

“These animals are always on this road, you always find them between Omeya Golf Estate and just after the Oamites turn-off,” he said.



JEMIMA BEUKES